Yorgos Yatromanolakis lives and works between Athens and Crete. He works on long-term photography projects and turns them into books, experimenting with storytelling, materials and design. He has already published two books, 'Roadblock to Normality' and 'Not provided' (2016). His last book 'The splitting of the chrysalis & the slow unfolding of the wings' was published by Void, in May 2018. He is co-founder of artist- run space 'Zoetrope' in Athens.
What was your first memory with photography? How did your interest start out?
YY: I started taking pictures in December 2008, in an enthusiastic attempt to document the youth riots that erupted in Greece right after the assassination of the 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos by the police. Following the repression of this movement, the only thing that was left to keep me connected with the ‘impossible’ was photography.
Your work is presented in the form of books, tell us more about 'Roadblock to Normality' & 'Not provided' describe those two photographic adventures, your approach, and how they ended up being self-published.
YY: Ι think it’s really creative to complete a photographic work in the form of a book. The photographs that you choose to use, their sequencing, the design, the choice of materials and the printing methods are interconnected creative processes, which should be constantly negotiated and balanced, as structural elements of a work’s essence. 'Roadblock to Normality' encapsulates my involvement in the social movements and the struggles in Greece from to 2008 to 2012. My intention was to create a small handmade book to preserve my personal memory along with the collective memory. 'Not provided' is personal notebook from my adventurous military service in the Greek army. This photographic work was a shelter, against the absurdity of those I have experienced in this bizarre situation. The book was self-published in 2016, in Athens.
© Book 'Not Provided' by Yatromanolakis Yorgos, self published 2016
© Book 'Not Provided' by Yatromanolakis Yorgos, self published 2016
© Book 'Not Provided' by Yatromanolakis Yorgos, self published 2016
© Book 'Not Provided' by Yatromanolakis Yorgos, self published 2016
© Book 'Roadblock to Normality' by Yatromanolakis Yorgos, self published 2016
© Book 'Roadblock to Normality' by Yatromanolakis Yorgos, self published 2016
© Book 'Roadblock to Normality' by Yatromanolakis Yorgos, self published 2016
In your latest work you returned to your place of origin on the island of Crete, in a long transitory period, could you explain the circumstances of your return, and how you started your series?
YY: After many years of being away, I unexpectedly returned back to my family house in 2014. Some unpleasant incidents have occurred that shattered my life. Moreover, I have just completed my mandatory military service and had almost lost my sense of identity. I was in darkness. Wondering in nature I spontaneously began photographing. It came as a need to visualize my feelings, to help me reflect on things and to understand myself.
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© Yatromanolakis Yorgos from the series 'The Splitting of the Chrysalis & the Slow Unfolding of the Wings'
Could you tell me more about the metaphorical aspect of your series (the title evoke the metamorphosis of the butterfly)
YY: The transformational biological processes in nature inspired change within me. The butterfly’s life circle and in particular the chrysalis stage during which the caterpillar spins itself into a cocoon, disintegrates almost all of its tissues and comes in to life again as a butterfly, is really mysterious and poetical. I empathized with this notion of creating a closed liminal space where everything is under construction and anything is possible. My homeland the island of Crete became that space for me.
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© Yatromanolakis Yorgos from the series 'The Splitting of the Chrysalis & The Slow Unfolding of the Wings'
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© Yatromanolakis Yorgos from the series 'The Splitting of the Chrysalis & The Slow Unfolding of the Wings'
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© Yatromanolakis Yorgos from the series 'The Splitting of the Chrysalis & The Slow Unfolding of the Wings'
How did it end up being edited and then published with Void in Athens?
YY: Right from the beginning I was working on this project knowing that it would become a book. While I was photographing, I would devote a great deal of time to work in parallel the editing and the design. So I had a clear idea about how the book should be. Void is a dynamic, creative space in Greece. We met at the right time. We shared a common vision and approach for the book, which was crucial for our collaboration.
© Book 'The Splitting of the Chrysalis & the Slow Unfolding of the Wings' by Yatromanolakis Yorgos, published by Void 2018
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© Book 'The Splitting of the Chrysalis & the Slow Unfolding of the Wings' by Yatromanolakis Yorgos, published by Void 2018
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© Book 'The Splitting of the Chrysalis & the Slow Unfolding of the Wings' by Yatromanolakis Yorgos, published by Void 2018
Any mentor, teacher or anybody else that has had an impact on how you understand your work?
YY: The way I love to learn is through experimenting, improvising and failing. I get inspired when I meet other artists. Apart from the field of photography, I feel that I have taken a lot of things from people from the field of cinema, music and documentary filmmaking.
Do you have any comments on how photography has been or is evolving in Greece? Is there anything you have observed in particular?
YY: I have a feeling that lately something new is emerging in the scene of the Greek artistic photography. Many young photographers have received international honors, new artist-run spaces are popping up as well as publishing initiatives and collectives. What’s really optimistic about all this is that it’s not something imposed institutionally. On the contrary, it comes as a need of the artists themselves and it’s being realized through horizontal grassroots structures.
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© Yatromanolakis Yorgos from the series 'The Splitting of the Chrysalis & the Slow Unfolding of the Wings'
Since you are a book lover please recommend as many books of photography as you want?
YY: My love for photobooks came from my love for the Japanese post-war photography movement. The artists of this era managed to break through the limits of representation and western rationalism and developed a radically new aesthetic; subjective and intuitive. The blending of their work with the Japanese printing tradition has produced a series of outstanding photobooks, worth to be researched in their entirety.
In these difficult times for Greece have you ever considered doing anything else?
YY: The financial crisis just sharpened the already existing social inequality of the socio-economic system. In such circumstances you do anything to survive. Working for your personal projects is always something that you do in parallel as a response to your own internal needs.
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